This invention relates to caster assemblies, and more particularly to a shock absorbing caster.
In movable equipment, casters are usually utilized to facilitate mobility. Typically, the casters include wheels supported within a yoke assembly. The yoke assembly can be adapted to be fixed to the mobile equipment or can be coupled to a swivel mechanism, such as a ball bearing assembly, for rotational movement beneath the mobile equipment. Frequently, the casters may be subject to impact loading on the mobile equipment, which may cause damage to the casters. Accordingly, it is beneficial to have the casters provided with some sort of shock resistant or shock absorbing capabilities.
In the aforementioned patent application, there is described a shock resistant caster assembly utilizing a shock pad located between two parts of a housing, with the housing being coupled to a wheel. The shock pad is formed of a flat elastomeric member having a hollow recess formed in one surface thereof to define a frame of elastomeric material around the recess. The elastomeric member is retained in place on one part of the housing by means of a locating tab extending from the one part of the housing with the tab being received within a locating slot provided in the elastomeric member. The two parts of the housing are held together by means of a bolt passing through aligned openings in the two parts of the housing.
The aforementioned caster assembly provides beneficial improvement over prior art caster assemblies. Such improvement facilitates utilization of the aforementioned caster assembly in such industries as the food service industry, the medical equipment industry, and the like where it is essential that all parts be readily cleaned. By avoiding the use of complex spring mechanisms, reducing the number of parts, and other design improvements, the retention of contamination in the caster assembly is substantially reduced so as to permit utilization of the caster in those industries having particular sanitary requirements.
Nevertheless, still further improvement over the casters can be achieved. For example, the presence of the retaining tab positioned within the locating slot can possibly cause some entrapment of water during a cleaning operation. The water may then possibly drip through the slot during subsequent use. Additionally, the recess in the elastomeric material may retain water vapor which can possibly accumulate. Also, the particular bolt which couples the two parts of the housing together is spaced from a horizontal surface so as to cause relative difficulty in cleaning the area.
Accordingly, while the aforementioned caster assembly can be utilized in sanitary requirements, still further improvements would be desirable.